As
the Delhi government prepares the final draft of its policy statement for
staggering four-wheeler traffic to bring down air pollution levels in the
Capital, the most significant question being asked by critics is the most basic
one: do we really need to do this?

Cycling is a highly efficient mode of
transportation and optimal for short to moderate distances. Compared to motor
vehicles, cycles have numerous benefits including the provision of exercise,
generating renewable energy and thus no air pollution, reducing traffic
congestion, minimizing noise pollution (nearly silent operation), easier and
less costly parking, much lower likelihood of causing a fatality, high
manoeuvrability, ability to travel on roads or special paths, and lower user
cost as well as societal costs (negligible damage to roads, and less pavement
required).

Biking to work has lots of benefits. However, there
are lots of people who are discouraged to do it. And the primary reason –
sweating. Well, it’s impossible to not break a sweat when biking to work. But
there are ways to minimize it. Here’s how.

If you don’t want to sweat, say goodbye to road
bikes. You need to exert more effort to ride a road bike because you need to
bend over. And of course, more effort means more sweat. So to avoid sweating,
you need to ride an e-Rider.

Electric bikes are attracting a lot of attention.
For some people, electric bikes allow them to get to work without breaking a
sweat; for others an electric bike is a means to keep up with a stronger
partner. Pretty much everybody who rides one says they’re a lot of fun and it’s
like having a tailwind with you at all times.

E-Rider is a pedal-assist bicycles. In other words
your pedalling is boosted; you don’t get propelled without pedalling. A small
DC Motor and a battery assists your pedalling efforts.

An E-Rider is a normal bicycle that has been
adapted or manufactured to incorporate the assistance of an electric motor,
while keeping the usual pedals and bicycle transmission. The motor assistance
can help the rider go further than they would under their own power. With an
E-Rider you can tackle bigger hills, or simply ride with less effort.

Of course, if
you want an all-out no-pain-no-gain workout, a standard bike will make you work
harder. But will you keep it up? Like a crash diet that leaves you feeling
hungry all the time, taking on a long commute or a hilly locality might mean
you start off with good intentions, but then start to find excuses to back out,
and leave the bike in the shed. An E-Rider, like a sensible balanced diet,
could help you to maintain your level of activity, meaning that you get more
exercise in the long run, using it several times a week. And of course, as you
gain fitness, you can choose to use the assistance less and less, perhaps only
on the worst hills, or into the strongest headwinds. And with assistance, you
might feel able to travel further, increasing the amount of time you spend
exercising.

Go further, faster, fresher: Even if you already cycle a little,
an E-Rider could extend your range, allowing you to do regular trips that you’d
struggle to manage otherwise, such as a long commute. If you’d like to cycle to
work, but are afraid it would leave you too hot and sweaty on arrival, electric
assist could allow you to moderate your effort, and still arrive on time. And
in the rush hour, bicycles tend to be faster than cars, because although a car
can achieve a higher speed, it’s more often stuck in a jam, while the bike
filters past or takes advantage of short cuts. For the same reason, journey
times by bike can be more reliable, and less subject to delay due to roadworks.